


Slowly, and Then All at Once

by thatwriterlady



Series: 30 Day Writing Challenge 2016 [28]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: 30 Day Writing Challenge 2016, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angels Take Mates In This, Castiel Loves Dean Winchester, Dean Winchester Loves Castiel, Falling In Love, Feelings, First Kiss, Fluff, Grace Bonds, Love, M/M, Pining, Self Loathing, Soul Bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-28
Updated: 2016-11-28
Packaged: 2018-09-11 00:55:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8946712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwriterlady/pseuds/thatwriterlady
Summary: Dean doesn't remember when he began to fall in love with his angel best friend, but once he realized it was happening, it became all he could think about.  He's convinced Cas doesn't think of him in the same way.  He couldn't be more wrong.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, I wanted just a bit more than just professing their love for one another, so I slipped mating bonds into this one. I do hope you enjoy the story.

**_Day 28: Falling in Love_ **

 

He wasn’t sure when it started happening, but once he was aware it was going on, it became all that he could think about.  One day they were going on hunts, just trying to survive, stay on top of whatever cases kept coming up, and the next God had decided he’d had enough of Eve’s pet projects and done away with everything deemed a danger to society.  That left a few shapeshifters who now knew better than to kill humans just for sport, and some ghosts.  That freed up so much of Dean and Sam’s time that they could now do the things they really wanted to do.  Except Dean had no idea what those things were for him.  He was a hunter.  Hunting was what he was good at.  What was he supposed to do?

 

Sam went back to community college and decided that instead of law this time around, he’d get his teaching degree.  Dean…well, he got caught up on Doctor Sexy, Game of Thrones, gave Baby a long overdue tune up and detailing, cleaned the entire bunker from top to bottom, found some old, broken items in a storage closet and tinkered around until most of them were fixed and working like new again.  Some were just beyond repair and he had to toss them.

 

Another thing he did was take up cooking.  It became a popular hobby, one Sam came to seriously dislike since he was frequently the one Dean forced to do taste testing.  Cas started coming around more often too.  There was peace in heaven now, and Chuck had basically given him time to discover himself, and to find his place in the world, not that Cas understood at all what that meant.  While he did take trips to places around the world that he hadn’t seen before (and a few that he loved and wanted to see again), the majority of his days were spent bumming around the bunker, following Dean around, starting his own garden, complete with a beehive (a gift from Dean.  What?  It’s not like he _wanted_ a reason for Cas to stick around.  It’s not like Cas already _had_ a reason), and assisting Dean with his kitchen experimentation.  Together they made roasts and souffles, casseroles, 20 some odd different chicken dishes, probably double that of beef, and even some fish ones.  And then there was the baking…

 

The bonding was nice when it had nothing to do with monsters, angels, demons, or hunting in general.  It was different, and so incredibly domestic that at first, it really threw Dean off.  Sam was gone most of the time now, either at school or down at the library where he had taken on a part time job, so it was mostly just Cas at the bunker with him.  Truthfully, he liked having Cas there with him.  At first, it was because the idea of being alone was…well, it was lonely, damn it!  Cas was his best friend, and the only person (angel or not) that he could stand to be around longer than Sam.  He enjoyed their time together, and the more they were around one another, the more Dean became painfully aware that what he was feeling for his friend was beyond the normal realm of just “friendship”, and it was…disconcerting.  Yeah, Dean knew words like disconcerting, he just didn’t use them around Sam, lest his brother try to convince him he should go back to school too.  But Cas, he was special, and Dean wanted to be his very best around the angel.  Cas deserved the best.

 

Dean had realized some years earlier that there was a part of him that felt… _more_ for his angelic friend than just simple friendship, but with his firm belief that Cas deserved the best, he had pushed his friend towards attractive women they met, despite how much the very thought of Cas with someone else hurt him.  And yet, the angel never showed interest in anyone.  After a while Dean had given up on that.  He’d point out attractive women still from time to time but he wouldn’t encourage Cas anymore.  Part of him was glad the angel showed no interest in them, but a part of him was sad that Cas seemed so disinterested.  It reaffirmed his thought that the angel really was so indifferent to sexual orientation as to be asexual, and not interested in any kind of romantic or sexual relationship.  That mean Dean didn’t have a chance at all. 

 

He’d pushed that thought aside for years, concentrating on preventing the apocalypse (over and over), defeating the Darkness (and what an ending THAT had been), and hunting down every monster that came across the Winchester radar for the last nearly 10 years since the angel had come into his life, and shoving his feelings so deep down that they were barely a flicker at the back of his conscience.  Instead, he concentrated on the fact that Cas was his best friend, and stopping whatever apocalypse type situation was happening.  Oh, and keeping Sam in line too.  Now that Sam was going off and starting a life of his own and there were really no more crises to avert, Dean was left with too much time to evaluate his feelings for his friend, especially when the guy spent about 90% of his time there at the bunker.  Not that Dean was complaining, because really, he wasn’t.  It just brought all of those feelings he had ignored and refused to evaluate and see for what they really were, rising up to the surface. 

 

He went from spending an enjoyable afternoon teaching his best friend how to make a pie from scratch to suddenly noticing all the small details that he had pointedly refused to focus on in years past.  The tiny crease that formed between Cas’ eyebrows when he concentrated hard on a recipe, the soft smile that formed on his lips when he watched his bees flittering amongst the flowers he had so carefully planted, the one that told Dean he was truly happy and at peace, or the way his fingers, long and slender as they were, would fold over one another when they sat down to watch a movie together.  Suddenly he wanted to smooth that crease away with a gentle touch, to be the reason Cas smiled like that, to take the angel’s hand in his own.  It made his head spin.  He seemed to fall slowly, and then all at once. 

 

Rather than cause him to freak out as he had expected it would, it sent him into a melancholy.  He began to spend more time either tinkering under Baby’s hood or lounging around in his bedroom.  Cas, ever aware of Dean’s moods, quickly realized something was wrong.  The look of sadness on the hunter’s face every time Cas looked at him was alarming, and he was determined to figure out what was wrong.  Asking only seemed to irritate Dean, but he had promised not to listen to his thoughts.  Still, he could feel the sadness, and what felt like…heartbreak.  That had been troubling enough, but it only grew stronger each time the hunter looked in his direction.  Suddenly Dean’s desire to create new dishes, or to work in the gardens with him were gone.  All he did was work on his car or lay around in bed watching movies.  He wasn’t even watching porn anymore.  In fact, he hadn’t watched that in so long that it raised even more concerns in the angel’s mind.  He was determined to get to the bottom of it.  One afternoon, after Sam had left for his job at the library, Cas tracked Dean down in the garage where he was actually working on one of the motorcycles instead of Baby.  He stood off to the side, quietly observing, aware of the way Dean’s shoulders drooped, and the frequent, heavy sighs as he worked. 

 

“Dean?”  He asked softly.  Dean didn’t even flinch.  He simply rested his elbows on his knees.  He remained facing the motorcycle and it hurt Cas that he wouldn’t even look at him anymore.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Will you please tell me what is wrong?  Don’t lie to me, I can feel your pain.  Why is your heart aching so much?”  Cas took a step forward, his tone pleading with the hunter to be honest with him.  Dean’s head dropped and he sighed again.

 

“I’m fine, Cas.  You wouldn’t understand anyway.”

 

Cas moved closer, coming to stand beside him.

 

“I understand a lot more than you give me credit for.  I wish to understand, and if possible, to help.  It hurts me when you are in pain like this.”

 

Dean finally did glance up, but his eyes didn’t meet the angel’s.  Instead they landed on his tie briefly before returning to the wrench in his hands.

 

“Not this, Cas.  You can’t help with this.  No one can.”

 

Cas’ frown was a downright scowl by that point.

 

“Dean, I have respected you all these years and I have stayed out of your thoughts.  I listen only for your prayers, but one thing I cannot ignore is how you feel.  I know when you are happy, when you are sad and when you are hurting.  Something is making your heart ache.  It’s like you are in love, but that love is not reciprocated.  I have not seen you in any kind of relationship in a very long time, so this confuses me.  What is making your heart hurt?  How can I fix it?” 

 

Dean shot to his feet, his green eyes alight with an anger that Cas had not seen directed at him in a very long time.

 

“You can’t fix it!  No one can!  It fucking _hurts_ , and there’s nothing you or anyone can do about it, unless you somehow know how to stop me from having feelings for someone I can’t ever have!  Can you do that, Cas?  Can you make me stop loving someone?!”  He shouted.  There was so much anger and pain in his words but Cas refused to back down.  He listened not only to the words themselves but to Dean’s very heart.  It felt like it was breaking even more.  There were tears in the hunter’s eyes and his fists were clenched tight.  Cas was at a loss for how to help him. 

 

“Dean-”

 

“No, Cas, there’s nothing you can do, ok?  Just…leave it.”  Dean tossed down the wrench and stormed out of the garage, leaving a confused and hurt angel standing there, watching him go.

 

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

“Sam, can I talk to you for a moment?”

 

Sam had barely walked in the door before he came face to face with a very upset angel. 

 

“Uh, sure, what’s on your mind?”

 

“Something’s wrong with Dean and he won’t talk to me about it.  I can feel that he is in pain, and I am worried about his well-being.  His heart is broken, Sam, and I can’t figure out _why._ ”  Cas wrung his hands as the worry and concern rolled off of him.

 

“What do you mean?  His heart is broken?”  Sam was confused.  “What are you talking about?”

 

Cas sighed deeply and it came out almost as a groan.

 

“Lately Dean has been avoiding me.  He won’t look me in the eye, doesn’t want to watch movies with me or cook with me anymore, and when I confronted him yesterday and asked him why I can feel how much pain he is in, and why his heart is aching the way it is, he told me there is nothing I can do to fix it, that I wouldn’t understand.  He said he’s in love with someone that couldn’t possible love him back-”  Suddenly his blue eyes went wide.  A small gasp escaped his lips.  “Oh…”

 

Sam was up to speed now, and he smirked as he reached out to pat Cas on the shoulder.

 

“It sounds like you have figured out the answer to your own question.”

 

“He loves me?”

 

“He has loved you for years.  You seriously didn’t know that?  Even I knew.  He’s been in denial though.”  Sam hitched his backpacker higher on his shoulder.  “So what are you going to do about it?”

 

Cas mulled the question over for a moment. 

 

“He believes that I do not love him in return.”

 

“Right.”  Sam agreed. 

 

“That would not be true.  I love him very much.”  When Cas looked up, Sam could see a fierce determination in his eyes. 

 

“I knew that too.  So, what are you planning to do about it?” 

 

Cas blinked slowly, as though he were just beginning to realize that something needed to be done about it.

 

“I…should tell him.”

 

“That’s a start.  But what about _after_ you tell him?”

 

Cas opened his mouth but seemed to reconsider what he was about to say and closed it again.  He ended up frowning as he considered how to handle the situation.  Sam sighed and leaned against the door frame.

 

“So let me ask you this.  In what way do you love Dean?  Cause he started off loving you as just a friend but now, he wants more than that.  He’s _in_ love with you.  He can see a future with you, and everything that might bring.  He is convinced that since you’ve never shown interest in anyone, that you couldn’t possibly feel the same way about him as he feels about you.  So, unless you’re prepared to deal with everything that comes with a declaration like that, don’t say a word.  Unless you are in love with him too, keep it to yourself.  You’ll destroy him.”

 

“No, I would never hurt him, not after everything we’ve been through.  I carry so much guilt for everything I’ve already done to hurt him in the past.”  Cas looked down towards the War Room for a moment before meeting Sam’s gaze again.  “I believe I need to talk with Dean.”

 

“I’m….going out for dinner.  I may or may not be back tonight.  If things go well between you guys, could you please text me and let me know if I need to get a motel room tonight?”  Sam turned and opened the door again, pausing first to say that.

 

“Why would you need a motel room?”  Cas asked, tilting his head in confusion.

 

“Cas, let me ask you something.  Do you ever think about kissing Dean?”

 

Sam had been unaware that an angel could blush, but apparently they could because Cas’ cheeks were suddenly tinged red.  His blue eyes fell to his hands which were clasped tightly in front of him.

 

“I…yes, I have thought about what it would be like.”

 

“Uh huh.  And do you want to do other things with him?”  Sam cocked an eyebrow as he watched the angel turn even redder.

 

“It has crossed my mind.  Rather often, if I’m being honest.” 

 

“Eww, ok.  Well, _that_ is why I am getting a motel room.  If you 2 are sharing your feelings, I’m gonna guarantee my brother isn’t going to want to talk for long.  Don’t worry about texting me, I’m just going to get the motel room.  I’ll be back in a couple of days.”  Sam gave a quick wave before ducking out the door and closing it behind him.  Cas was left with his thoughts, and a heavy weight on his mind.  He needed to talk to Dean.  Now.

 

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

Dean was lying in his bed clicking aimlessly through Netflix, unable to find anything worth settling on when there came a knock at his door.

 

“Go away, Cas.”  He sighed.

 

“No.”  Cas opened the door and marched in.  Dean hurried to sit up and throw the blanket over his legs as he was dressed only in his boxers and a tee shirt.

 

“What the hell, man?  I said go away!” 

 

“And I said no.”  Cas snapped.  Dean’s eyes widened in surprise.  There was fire in the angel’s eyes, and in his voice.  He closed the door behind him and marched over to the bed.  The first thing Dean noticed was that he had changed out of his usual trench coat and suit.  The angel looked so human dressed in loose fitting jeans and one of the hunter’s old tee shirts that he had passed along to Cas a few years earlier in hopes that one day he might wear it.  He’d lost hope that the angel would ever change his clothes.  Apparently today at least one of Dean’s wishes was coming true.  There wasn’t time to dwell on that though because Cas was bearing down on him with all the fury of heaven.  If he didn’t know any better he would have thought the angel was there to smite him.  It pissed him off.

 

“What the fuck?  This is _my_ room!  I say who gets to come in and when, not you!”

 

The fire in those blue orbs only seemed to burn brighter as he marched over to the bed.  Dean barely registered that the angel was barefoot.  Fuck, he looked so hot like this, with his hair sticking up even more than usual, the muscles in his chest flexing as he moved.  His own eyes widened as he suddenly found himself with an angel in his lap, straddling him and pinning him to the bed.

 

“You will listen to me, Dean Winchester, and you not speak until I am finished.”  Cas cocked an eyebrow and damn it, that was even sexier.  Dean glared up at him as he crossed his arms and waited.

 

“Could you at least bitch at me from somewhere _other_ than on top of me?”

 

“No, now shut up.”  Cas snapped.  Dean gaped for a moment before closing his mouth and glaring even harder.

 

“You were mistaken yesterday.  You assum that I am oblivious, and that I could not possibly understand what you are feeling.  But I do.  I know the love that you feel because I feel it too.  I am not the asexual creature that you have long believed me to be.  Angels do love, even if it is not in the same manner that humans might, but Dean, I have been human.  I know what it is to feel that kind of love, and it is an amazing feeling.  I knew many years ago that what I felt towards you went beyond simply caring for my charge.  Then you considered me a friend, and I loved you as a friend.  You and Sam were my first real friends.  My feels continued to grow for you, and I realized that I was falling in love with you, however, I believed that you were interested only in women.  I spent many years wondering if I should change vessels, if that would make you love me in return.  My Father said I should not.  I believe he knew how you felt, even as you hid it from me, and so I remained in this body.  It is mine fully now, and will be mine for the rest of eternity.  My grace has bonded to it, something that is incredibly rare.  What that means is that I cannot leave this vessel now and choose another. 

 

“Dean, something you do not know about angels is that we are able to take mates, though when we mate, we mate for life.  It is a deep, unbreakable bond.  Most angels connect with other angels, but a few have dared to forge that bond with humans.  It was long believed to be forbidden because our Father was not around to say we could, but now that He has returned, we know that it is not forbidden.  In fact, He encourages it.  We were meant to love humans.  When He told us this, my very first thought was of you, but then I risked my own heartbreak because I believed you could not possibly think of me like that.  I realize now that you do, so I have come to declare my love for you, and to announce me desire to take you as my mate.”

 

Cas seemed so proud of himself as he smiled down at Dean.  The hunter however, was left with his head spinning and his emotions more out of control than they had ever been in his entire life.  He arched an eyebrow, a silent request to speak.

 

“You may speak now.”

 

Dean took a deep breath.  Where to start?  He focused first on the most important words that Cas had spoken.

 

“You…”  He swallowed hard and stares deep into the blue eyes watching him, wanting to be absolutely sure that what Cas is saying is true.  “Love me?”

 

“With every ounce of my being.  I have come to understand human love, and to embrace it.  What I feel for you, it is not what I feel for my brethren.  I love you deep down in my very core.  My grace, it aches to be close to you when you are gone, and it reaches out for you when you are near.  I believe that if I were to have a soul instead, it would do the same.”

 

Dean stared in disbelief.  Cas…loved him.  In the same way he loved Cas. 

 

“Since when do angels take mates?”

 

“It is not something we discuss generally with humans as it can be used against us.”  Cas replied.

 

“Used against you how, exactly?”  Dean asked.

 

Cas finally broke eye contact and looked away.

 

“To take a mate is to bond with them for life.  When I say angels mate for life, I mean they mate for all of eternity.  There is no other that comes before their mate.  It is an unbreakable bond.  To kill one is to kill both.”

 

Dean’s head spun even more with this new knowledge. 

 

“What happens to angels that take human mates?”  He finally asked.

 

“When our mate dies, so do we.”

 

Dean tried to sit up and failed.

 

“Could you get off me please?”

 

Cas reluctantly climbed off him and settled for kneeling beside him.  Dean sat up so they were at eye level.

 

“Cas, I can’t let you tie yourself to me like that.”

 

Cool blue eyes met his own green ones once more.

 

“You do not understand.  A world without you in it is not one that I want to exist in.  And I would not be permitted inside your heaven. I would be alone, Dean.  Alone and in mourning for all of eternity.  For that I would take my own blade and end my suffering.  To die with you would be to join you in the afterlife as well.”  Cas reached out to place a hand tentatively over Dean’s heart.  When the hunter didn’t pull away, he pressed his palm down more firmly.  “We have made mistakes in the past, more than either of us would ever care to admit to, but one constant has always remained no matter what.  From the moment I laid eyes on you in hell and saw your soul, I have loved you.  I saw you and understood God’s design, his reason for creating mankind, but once I knew you, I loved you even more.  In the moments when you are the biggest asshole I have ever known and the moments when you are the kindest, most gentle person, but also in the moments in between.  I have seen you at your worst, been on the receiving end of your cruelty, and still my heart aches to be close to you, to love you.  Before you I never believed I would take a mate.  Many angels do not.  Were I not to believe your feelings for me are the same, I still would not, for there is not an angel in heaven or human on earth that I would want to bind myself to for eternity, than you.” 

 

Where did that lump in his throat come from?  Dean swallowed against it and blinked away the tears that were threatening to spill. 

 

‘Geez, Cas, for a guy that struggles with words more often than not, you just sounded like you recited your wedding vows to me.”  He joked.  If he didn’t make light of this he thought he might go nuts.  His hand came up to cover the one Cas still had over his heart.  “You really want a cranky asshole like me?”

 

Cas’ smile was beautiful.

 

“I do, forever, if you’ll let me.”

 

Dean was more than a little awestruck.  His free hand came up to cup his angel’s cheek and he felt his own love for Cas flare brighter when he leaned into it.  Cas was beautiful.  Even as an angel he was flawed, imperfect, and capable of making mistakes.  For being divine, he was not all that different from Dean, or from any other human.  He suspected that was also a part of God’s great design.

 

“Cas…”

 

He loved the angel.  God, he loved him so damn _much_!  Sam was the only person he’d said those words to, besides his mother, and she was gone again.  Cas deserved to hear it though, because he meant it.

 

“I love you too, Cas.  I’m not good with the feelings thing but I can at least tell you that, and I mean it.  I-I can’t believe you love me too.  I was beating myself up because I was sure I could never have you.”

 

With his heart soaring and his stomach fluttering with a thousand butterflies, Dean grabbed the front of Cas’ shirt.  He pulled the angel forward until their lips met in a tender kiss.  There was nothing rushed about it.  They moved as one, slowly, Dean laying back against his pillows once more and Cas following.  He paused only long enough to move Dean’s laptop to the floor on the other side of the bed before returning to Dean’s side, their lips finding one another’s once more.  This was everything Dean had dreamed of, and more.  For all of their flaws, all of the mistakes they had made and the hurt they had caused one another, they had brought one another infinitely more joy, more love, more peace than either could have hoped for.  Dean knew he wanted Cas, for the rest of his life.

 

“Cas, I want that, I want to be your mate.”

 

Cas was practically beaming with such simple words.

 

“Truly?  You will be mine?”

 

“Yeah, Cas, I’ll be yours, though I still think you’re nuts to want me.”  Dean grinned and pressed another kiss to the angel’s lips.  “What exactly do we have to do to seal this bond?”

 

“It is simple.  We exchange bits of ourselves.  I give you some of my grace to bind with your soul, and you do the same for me.”  Cas nuzzled against Dean’s jaw as he spoke, the hunter shivering as he realized one angelic hand had slid under his tee shirt and one of those long, slender fingers he admired so much was circling around his left nipple.  It was sending shockwaves of pleasure through him that he definitely wanted more of.  First though, he wanted answers.

 

“Ok, in theory, it sounds simple.  I saw how grace is removed.  That can’t feel good, and how are you to get some of my soul?”

 

The finger circling his nipple disappeared and then a hand was laying firmly over his heart once more.  Slowly it slid to the right until it was resting in the center of his chest.  Something deep inside of him tugged, as though drawn to the angel’s touch.

 

“What was that?”

 

“Your soul, it reaches out to me.  It knows that you are mine.  Do you feel that pull whenever I am near?  That need to be close to me?  Your soul, it calls to me.”  Cas replied.  That tug grew stronger.  “Please, Dean, remove your shirt.”

 

Dean managed to pull his shirt off without having to sit up, and as soon as it was off, Cas’ lips were pressed to his chest, showering it with tender kisses.  His hand slid over Dean’s chest again before settling in the center once more.  Again there came that tugging sensation.  It didn’t hurt, exactly, but it felt very odd.  As Dean watched, a light rose slowly from the middle of his chest, swirling up in a thin tendril, almost like smoke.  Cas caught it, his fingers folding around it.  He hadn’t lied when he’d said Dean’s soul was bright.  The little bit that he held tight in his hand glowed so much that it nearly could not be contained.

 

“Now what?”  Dean asked.

 

“Now, we exchange.” 

 

Cas sat up and pulled his angel blade from his back pocket.  Dean watched as he used it to cut a small line in his wrist.  The light of his grace shown through it.

 

“Call to it, Dean.” 

 

Dean sat up and looked at Cas for a moment before turning his attention to the angel’s arm.  He placed a hand over it, his eyes widening as grace seemed to just ooze out of the cut and slide over his fingers.  Turning his hand over he saw the light had settled in the palm of his hand.  It was no bigger than a dime, but nearly as bright as the sun.  As he watched, Cas took the bit of Dean’s soul that he had extracted and slid it into the still open cut.  When he pulled his hand away, the cut was sealed, all signs of it gone.

 

“How do I get this into me?”  Dean asked, motioning to the grace still in his hand.

 

Cas smiled and lifted the angel blade.

 

“Trust me.”  He said.

 

“I do, Cas.”

 

Cas cut a small but deep line into Dean’s chest.  Dean lifted the little ball of light and pressed it to the gash that was surprisingly not bleeding.  He gasped as he felt it enter him, grabbing tight and winding itself around his soul.  It took root, becoming a part of him, and as he sighed, the cut on his chest sealed itself, no scar left behind.

 

“I can feel it inside me.”  Dean was still marveling over that.  He felt a pull towards Cas, no doubt the need for his grace to be reconnected with its host, but his soul reached out for its missing part as well.  It wasn’t an uncomfortable feeling, more like a yearning to be as close to his angel as absolutely possible.

 

“Is that it?”  Dean wondered.

 

“Well, most marriages are sealed by consummation.  I would very much like to do that part now.”  Cas replied.  Dean snorted and laid back down, pulling Cas down with him.

 

“We can definitely get to the consummating.”  He agreed.  

 

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

“So, you professed your undying love to one another?”  Sam asked, one eyebrow arched so high it disappeared under the edge of his too long hair.  He’d wisely stayed away for 3 days, but he was out of clean clothes, and missing his bed, so he’d returned.  Coming in, he’d found the lovebirds curled up in the media room watching Die Hard.  No surprise there.

 

“Yep.  But more than that, we got hitched, didn’t we, Cas?”  Dean grinned and looked over at his angel who was sitting quietly beside him.

 

“In a way, yes, we did.  Dean is my mate.”

 

“I’m sorry, your what now?”  Sam was sure he’d heard him wrong.

 

“My mate.  We are bound to one another, forever.”  Cas replied.

 

“How the hell did that happen?  Since when do angels take mates?  That’s not in any of the books on angel lore!”  Sam cried.  He wasn’t sure whether he was more alarmed over the whole “forever” part or shocked that Dean was actually willing to settle down.

 

“You won’t find it in the angel lore because that is not a fact that we share with humans, unless the human is one that is intended to become a mate.  Dean is the only person in my long life that I ever told about this, and I trust that he will keep that secret the rest of his life.  I am trusting you to do the same, Sam.  If word got out, angel mates could be targeted by demons.  There are not many with human mates but there are enough to make them feel like they have a chance at destroying us.”  Cas’ hand came up to rest protectively over his mate’s chest.  Dean just smiled and leaned in to kiss him softly.

 

“It happened because I love him, Sammy, and he loves me.  He asked me to be his mate and I said yes.”  Dean said.  Sam had never seen his brother so sappy before in his life, but he didn’t dare call attention to it.  Instead he marveled over the looks of adoration his brother and Cas shared.  Dean had loved Cassie and he had loved Lisa but he had not been _in_ love with either of them.  He was with Cas though, Sam could see it.

 

“Then I’m happy for you guys.  And don’t worry, I won’t say anything to anyone about you being mates.  I’m guessing others won’t be able to tell, so you guys will be safe from that, right?” 

 

“Other angels will know.  Dean is marked as mine.”  There was a fierce possessiveness to the angel’s tone that caught Sam slightly off guard.  Dean though was just beaming proudly.

 

“Marked?”  Sam dared to ask.  Dean pulled back the edge of his tee shirt and his brother winced at the bite mark on his shoulder.  If he didn’t know better, he’d think Cas had fangs.  It was deep, and angry red.

 

“You _bit_ him?!”  Sam cried, looking at Cas again.

 

“It is part of sealing the bond.  I technically didn’t have to, his soul is already bound to my grace, but I like the idea that there is visible proof that he is mine.”  Now it was Cas that sounded proud, and more than a little smug.

 

“Oh.  Uh, cool.”  Sam had no idea what to really say in response to that.  “So, now what?”

 

“We go on with our lives.  I think…”  Dean reached over to take Cas’ hand, smiling at his angel when those blue eyes met his own.  “I’m going to automotive school.  Cas thinks it would be a good idea.  Bringing in legit money would really reduce our need to keep up with the credit card scams.  That’s getting really old.  And our pool scam, while fun, it’s not something I want to do forever.  I…need to provide for my family in a better way.”

 

Now that made Sam happy to hear.  Cas was always able to get Dean to do the things Sam couldn’t.  He grinned and reached over to pat his brother on the shoulder.

 

“That’s great news.” 

 

“I’ll look into it after our honeymoon.  We’re taking 2 weeks to travel the world.”  Dean leaned against Cas, smiling even brighter when the angel pulled his hand free so he could wrap it around Dean’s shoulders.

 

“You’re going to get on a plane?  Willingly?”  Sam couldn’t believe it!

 

“No, Cas is going to fly us.  It’s still not my favorite method of transportation, but I trust him, and he has places he wants to show me.  I want to go.”

 

Sam was seeing a new side to his brother, a more relaxed, happier side, and he had to say, it looked damn good on the man.

 

“Well, congratulations again.  Bring me back some souvenirs.”

 

Dean got up and held out a hand to Cas who took it as he got to his feet.

 

“We’re going to bed.  See you in the morning.”  He said.

 

“Yeah, I don’t have classes until 2 tomorrow, and I’m off work.  I’ll catch you guys later.”  Sam gave a quick salute as he watched his brother and Cas disappear towards their room.  He was glad it had all worked out for them.

 

Alone, he began to wonder what exactly had occurred to bind Dean’s soul to Cas’ grace, and what did that mean for them if one of them died?  He was still pondering it as he made his way to his bedroom an hour later.  What was mating with an angel really like?  Was the sex better?  And how did that bond work exactly since Cas and Dean already had a strong bond to begin with.  He stepped into his room, still thinking about these things as he flipped the light switch.  He missed the familiar figure sitting smack in the middle of his bed until they spoke.

 

“Hey there, Samsquatch.  You miss me?”

**Author's Note:**

> I thank you for reading this. We are almost done with this series. I am limited to wifi accessibility, but also to time when I can write. I've had a lot come up in recent weeks. Thank you to those that have stuck with me through all of these stories. Kudos and comments are always welcome.


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